Feedback from owners of Active Line Plus bikes would be greatly appreciated.

[Dr Alan Workman]

My intention was to buy a Cube touring bike with a CX motor. However when I tested it on the flat I was surprised how noisy it was. In contrast the Active line plus was much quieter and I felt, a greatly smoother . My problem is that I live in a particularly hilly part of Wales and have not been able to test the Active line plus on a proper gradient. I'm intrigued why so many of the bike firms put the CX on touring bikes if the Active line plus is capable of non MTB slopes. In short would a touring bike with Active line plus with 11/46 gearing be suitable in a hilly region? I weigh 12.5 stone 6ft 1 and reasonably fit (apart from currently having a broken ankle, hence my initial interest in ebikes}
I would greatly appreciate any comments from Active Line Plus bike owners who live in hillier areas. Again I'm not interested in MTB use, possibly a few forestry gravel trails at the most.

 

[soundwave]

active line is for town bikes and hub gears so ur best of with a cx drive or performance.
https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/products/drive-unit/

 

[Nefarious]

No harm in having a hardtail eMTB and a motor capable of chewing up the hills, even if you don't intend to hit the hardcore trails!

 

[jayjay]

active line is for town bikes and hub gears so ur best of with a cx drive or performance.
https://www.bosch-ebike.com/en/products/drive-unit/

I was going to buy the raleigh motus grand tour with active line plus - but we live on North Downs - lots of hills - maybe this is the wrong bike -just not sure now

 

[Jowwy]

My intention was to buy a Cube touring bike with a CX motor. However when I tested it on the flat I was surprised how noisy it was. In contrast the Active line plus was much quieter and I felt, a greatly smoother . My problem is that I live in a particularly hilly part of Wales and have not been able to test the Active line plus on a proper gradient. I'm intrigued why so many of the bike firms put the CX on touring bikes if the Active line plus is capable of non MTB slopes. In short would a touring bike with Active line plus with 11/46 gearing be suitable in a hilly region? I weigh 12.5 stone 6ft 1 and reasonably fit (apart from currently having a broken ankle, hence my initial interest in ebikes}
I would greatly appreciate any comments from Active Line Plus bike owners who live in hillier areas. Again I'm not interested in MTB use, possibly a few forestry gravel trails at the most.

I have the active line plus on my cube......weigh 18st 7lbs, 10/42 cassette and have no problem on the hills of south wales

 

[Trevormonty]

Had Shimano E6000 which is meant to have equivalent power. A 38t chainring with 11/34 cassette is good enough for 99% of sealed roads and we have some very steep hills. For touring or offroad exploring I'd go with 11/42 or 11/46t, the lower gearing also allows you to climb in tour mode to extend battery range.

The other plus of 10 or 11spd derailluer is you get better quality shifter.

 

[Shurm]

I have the Cube Acid Hybrid with active plus and it’s fine for climbs, never not been able to tackle even the steepest climbs around our way.

 

[GLJoe]

I'm intrigued why so many of the bike firms put the CX on touring bikes ...

Well ... the CX motor has been around longer than the newer large cog variants, so there will be more of that design in the manufacturers catalogs.

Also, the CX motor does still offer the most powerful option. Some people will want that. The beauty of the crank drive is that pretty much any tarmac'ed road is climbable with all the models if you change gear appropriately, but you'll be able to climb marginally faster with a CX than with an active line as you don't have to change to as large a rear cog.

Also worth noting that there is a higher cadence support with the CX motor than the active line models. May or may not be an issue depending on your usual riding technique.

 

[MikeS]

I took a Crossfuse with Active Line plus to the bottom of the west side of Hartside pass in Cumbria and cycled from Renwick to the burnt out caff on the top. It is a 1400ft climb in 4.5 miles and I did it easily without once going into turbo mode and not even breathing hard at the top (25 minutes). I'm 68 passably fit but with skinny legs and bad knees. However, my estimate is that it used 30% of the battery during those 25 minutes.
On the next day I did 14 miles around Alston and this included a climb out of Garrigill which is 18% and which I almost didn't make even using turbo mode.
Hope this helps.
Mike

 

[Gringo]

Looking at your replies so far id question Who has actual first hand experience of riding an active line plus rather than just reading about them.

Personally my cube acid one hasent failed on any hill I've gone for (on or off road) and I've only been a natts whatsit slower than my mate on his CX powered cube.
Bottom line, buy the active line plus and you'll have a nicer quieter ride that's easier to ride over the cutoff speed also unlike the CX with the power off there's no drag from the motor

 

[MikeS]

Looking at your replies so far id question Who has actual first hand experience of riding an active line plus rather than just reading about them.

Personally my cube acid one hasent failed on any hill I've gone for (on or off road) and I've only been a natts whatsit slower than my mate on his CX powered cube.
Bottom line, buy the active line plus and you'll have a nicer quieter ride that's easier to ride over the cutoff speed also unlike the CX with the power off there's no drag from the motor

Yes my active line plus is certainly very quiet (I definitely need a bell when coming up behind walkers ). I don't think I'd realised that the CX is harder to pedal when the motor is off (or over the limit) - that would be a show stopper for me. Although I do miss the instant surge that the Crossfire Suntour system gave from a standing start - and which some posts imply is the same for the CX
Mike

 

[jayjay]

I took a Crossfuse with Active Line plus to the bottom of the west side of Hartside pass in Cumbria and cycled from Renwick to the burnt out caff on the top. It is a 1400ft climb in 4.5 miles and I did it easily without once going into turbo mode and not even breathing hard at the top (25 minutes). I'm 68 passably fit but with skinny legs and bad knees. However, my estimate is that it used 30% of the battery during those 25 minutes.
On the next day I did 14 miles around Alston and this included a climb out of Garrigill which is 18% and which I almost didn't make even using turbo mode.
Hope this helps.
Mike

hi
when i looked up the spec it looks like the crossfuse has active line rather than active line plus. has this changed?

 

[MikeS]

hi
when i looked up the spec it looks like the crossfuse has active line rather than active line plus. has this changed?

Yes I too was worried about this when I read the Halfords adverts. But I rode their demonstrator which definitely had the Plus and when mine came 2 days after ordering it, the first thing I checked was for the Plus badges on the motor. I can only assume that Halfords original plan was to make it with the smaller motor but changed their mind and didn't tell the marketing department.
Mike

 

[Dr Alan Workman]

Thanks all for your very informative replies. I think I will be going with Gringo’s advice and following the Active Line Plus route. Halfords still seem to be advertising the Crossfuse as Active line. Wonder how many sales they miss because of a typo ! Will feedback when my ankle has healed and I can actually buy /ride a bike.

 

[GLJoe]

Halfords still seem to be advertising the Crossfuse as Active line. Wonder how many sales they miss because of a typo !

0.1%

Because 99% of the people buying bikes in halfords are only interested in the colour and the price, and of the 1% who do know what they are after, only 2 out of 10 of those are going to know there is a difference between the active line and active line plus, and of those two, only one is going to care

 

[Gringo]

If you go the halfords route, don't forget that a £30 ish British cycling membership will give you 10% off at halfords

Climbing ability active line plus
Today while exploring new trails and bridalways I came across the gnarliest bridalway climb I'd seen. Needless to say, I had to have a go. In my lowest gear and turbo assist I gave it my best shot. The bike just kept climbing, pulling like a train, there was a time when the front wheel kept lifting and I had to lean as far forward as I could too save going over the back but the motor didn't miss a beat. Yes my legs had a good workout and yes a CX motor would have saved my legs a little but the bottom line is an active line plus bike could take you places you never had thought possible

 

[Trevormonty]

If you go the halfords route, don't forget that a £30 ish British cycling membership will give you 10% off at halfords

Climbing ability active line plus
Today while exploring new trails and bridalways I came across the gnarliest bridalway climb I'd seen. Needless to say, I had to have a go. In my lowest gear and turbo assist I gave it my best shot. The bike just kept climbing, pulling like a train, there was a time when the front wheel kept lifting and I had to lean as far forward as I could too save going over the back but the motor didn't miss a beat. Yes my legs had a good workout and yes a CX motor would have saved my legs a little but the bottom line is an active line plus bike could take you places you never had thought possible

With 38t chainring and 11-46t it should climb almost anything. This based on my experience with CX and same gearing using tour mode.

 

[Dr Alan Workman]

Hi Gringo Could I be a bit cheeky and ask your your body weight as this obviously has a bearing.

 

[Gringo]

Hi Gringo Could I be a bit cheeky and ask your your body weight as this obviously has a bearing.

Very cheeky but just between you and me.
57 years old (birthday today so you can wish me a happy birthday if you like )
5'8" tall and just a guess at 15+1/2 stone but it may be more as I haven't weighed myself This year
Just as important is your fitness,
any torque sensor bike will only multiply your effort so if you can pedal at 100 watts in turbo mode ( +250%) you'll actually have 350 watts output.
On the other hand if for whatever reason you can only manage to give 10 watts, even in turbo mode you'll still only have a total 35 watts of power.

 

[Dr Alan Workman]

Very cheeky but just between you and me.
57 years old (birthday today so you can wish me a happy birthday if you like )
5'8" tall and just a guess at 15+1/2 stone but it may be more as I haven't weighed myself This year
Just as important is your fitness,
any torque sensor bike will only multiply your effort so if you can pedal at 100 watts in turbo mode ( +250%) you'll actually have 350 watts output.
On the other hand if for whatever reason you can only manage to give 10 watts, even in turbo mode you'll still only have a total 35 watts of power.